On a night already filled with meaning, Choctaw baseball delivered a finish worthy of the occasion.
- The Indians rallied for four runs in the bottom of the 7th inning to stun Crestview 5-4 on Tuesday at the Andy Snaith Baseball Complex, erasing a three-run deficit in what may be the most thrilling game of the young season.
The contest doubled as Choctaw’s annual “Alayna Bowman Game,” a night dedicated to honoring Alayna Bowman, a beloved Choctawhatchee High School student who was killed by a drunk driver in 2010 at the age of 16.
In her memory, the Indians traded their traditional green for pink and black jerseys as part of a “Pink Out” night, with all proceeds going to the Alayna Bowman Memorial Scholarship Fund. The foundation has awarded more than $110,000 in scholarships to Choctaw seniors since its founding.
- Alayna’s parents, Mike and Linde Bowman, along with her brother Mack, were in attendance for the game. Mike threw out the ceremonial first pitch.
“It’s a special night for the program. I think there’s somebody watching down on us, and it’s an extremely special win on an extremely special night,” Choctaw Head Coach David Weber said. “Anytime you can beat a team around you that you see a lot, it’s always special.”
Jack Marracco gave the Indians an early edge, hammering a home run off Crestview pitcher Zander Keith in the first inning to put Choctaw up 1-0. But the Indians couldn’t build on that lead, and the Bulldogs began chipping away in the fifth.
Keith drew a walk, and Will Lyle came on as a pinch runner. Landon Baggett followed with a single, and Kyle Williamson’s sacrifice fly brought Lyle home to tie it at 1-1.
Choctaw went three up, three down in the bottom of the fifth, and Crestview pounced. Cam Cook singled, Nauver Macayo reached on an error, and Hayden Graham lined a hit that sent Cook home to give the Bulldogs their first lead of the night at 2-1.
The Indians went quiet again in the sixth, and Crestview added to its cushion. Zach Smith singled, Johnny Thorpe drew a walk, and Cook delivered a hit that drove in both runners, pushing the Bulldogs’ lead to 4-1.
It looked like Crestview was on its way to a road upset.
Then the bottom of the seventh happened.
John Brown reached first after Macayo committed an error. Jack Harrell followed with a single. The Bulldogs had a chance at a double play that could have ended the game, but it missed by inches, leaving both runners safe.
Carter Marracco then ripped a double that scored both Brown and Harrell, cutting the deficit to 4-3. Keith was pulled in favor of reliever Tucker Raef, but the damage wasn’t done. Jack Marracco singled off Raef, and Seth Young followed with the hit that brought both Marracco brothers home, giving Choctaw the 5-4 walk-off win and sending the home crowd into a frenzy.
“They took the lead late, these guys could’ve folded up shop and gone to the house, but our guys continued to fight,” Weber said.
Choctaw (7-3) faces another in-county rival Wednesday when it travels to Niceville. Crestview (8-5) hits the road Thursday to take on Navarre.
